link to my magazine, Boys Will Be Boys

From reviewing my exam project which looks at the fashion of teenage boys on Jersey and how this can provide a means of expression, I feel a sense of satisfaction because the whole project project has been very rewarding. I had never produced work as I have done in this project before and because of this, the completion of the project has been very rewarding because of the effort gone into approaching models to photograph and the success of the majority of the shoots. This project has been a very collaborative project and relied heavily on the cooperation of my subjects that I was attempting to tell the stories of. Therefore, the relationship between my subjects and myself was vital in allowing for a true representation for their “story” – a story that explored the way they dress and the reasons behind why they dress in the style they do. On top of this primary focus on fashion, I also made it may aim to relate this to how teenage boys, who are often so caught up in portraying a masculine persona, can lose a sense of security and identity in themselves if they didn’t have fashion as a means to express themselves. This is how I related the whole project to freedom and limitations – my focus on revealing a certain sensitiveness behind the mask of masculinity allowed me to explore the theme of freedom.

Furthermore, my study into several artists allowed me to understanding the history of fashion photography as well as street fashion photography and the allowed me to see how this differed to the much more conceptual and socially-aware portraits of young people to tell a narrative. Having studied how such successful photographers such as David Bailey of the 20^th century who captured a model’s features in a single image allowed me to understand where to start in terms of portraiture. In addition, looking at the work of young photographer, James Greenhalgh allowed me to gather a sense of understanding into how to tell a story of a subject through a use of careful body and facial expressions.

After completing five different photoshoots, I have managed to collate around 25 images, about 5 for each character and these edits are images I can be proud of because I believe this project has challenged me and challenged my ability to interact with people in order to create meaningful imagery. In conclusion, I believe I fulfilled the exam brief to my full potential and the images I have at the end of this project, all coincide with one another to create a cohesive project that follows the story of five different characters and their attempts to feel a sense of acceptance.